Service Commercial Contracting - Transactional and Aging Fleet Specialist

 

 

General Purpose:

The Specialist, Service Commercial Contracting – Transactional and Aging Fleet, is responsible for managing the contractual lifecycle of two growing business lines within the Service Sales Team: transactional sales and aging fleet, including repower projects. The Specialist will manage the negotiation of complex Vestas contracts involving parts and services transactional work, as well as contracting around aging fleet opportunities that include turbine repowering, ensuring compliance with internal Vestas contract requirements on cost control and risk management and incorporating best practices and lessons learned into future negotiations. The scope of contracting will also involve procurement agreements with vendors to support those two lines of business. The Specialist will then manage those contract obligations with the respective operations teams to facilitate operational compliance and guide issue resolution involving input and feedback from multiple operational, technical, commercial, and legal stakeholders across the organization. The candidate should have solid contract interpretation skills, proficient drafting capabilities, and be solution minded.

 

Responsibilities:

• Support Service Sales contracting for transactional parts and service projects, and repowering projects, managing the negotiation of contracts, including direct negotiation with customers from internal kick-off meetings through handover to Operations.
• Support Service and Transactional Operations teams by identifying contractual and commercial approaches and negotiation tactics to avoid or resolve customer disputes; execute the chosen strategy by drafting and obtaining internal approvals of letters, notices, position papers and amendments throughout the contract lifecycle.
• Develop a position on terms and conditions during negotiation, ensuring that stakeholders’ concerns are represented appropriately.
• Manage the negotiation process: liaise with customer representative, set the timeline, arrange and manage meetings, and coordinate internal agreement on resolution.
• Ensure that all contracts and other legal instruments are consistent with Vestas internal guidelines for acceptable commercial commitments (or other risk policies) and maximize Vestas’s ability to perform to the contract and avoid future customer disputes.
• Maintain contracts database that captures life-cycle requirements for easy reference and management of operational and commercial obligations.
• Conduct trainings for the transactional teams in sales and operations that highlight key contractual terms and concepts so that those teams can best perform to the contracts’ obligations.
• Participate in direct customer conversations and negotiations, as part of coordinated account team or ad hoc team to resolve specific issues.
• Review existing contracts for lessons learned and direct that input to support negotiation of new agreements.
• Develop and maintain very effective professional working relationship with Vestas Service Sales, Service Operations, Legal, and other key stakeholder departments.
• Initiate internal process improvements necessary to support job responsibilities, including document management and reporting tools.
• Identify opportunities to create mutual value for Vestas and customers while protecting Vestas profitability and risk appetite.
• Timely respond to inquiries on points of contract interpretation from Operations teams.

 

Essential Functions:

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite computer skills (Windows, Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook and Teams) as well as other software such as SAP or Salesforce.
• Regular and reliable attendance and responsiveness to stakeholders.
• Effective written and oral communication skills; able to express oneself clearly and in technical and non-technical terms, and to translate contract language for non-legal stakeholders.
• Ability to establish and maintain good relationships with internal and external stakeholders at all levels.

 

 

Education, Training, and Skills Required:

• J.D. or MBA, plus 2 years of directly related experience in contract interpretation or negotiation. May be substituted by advanced coursework in contracts.
• Working knowledge of commercial regulations and law.
• Knowledge of practices, procedures and processes of contract administration as well as interpretation of regulations and contract clauses.  
• Proficient oral communication skills with effective ability to prepare clear, concise and compelling written materials; in particular, ability to communicate with field personnel lacking specialized contract knowledge; solid customer presence and ability to negotiate contentious issues.